”Shíjì shang, wǒ bùxiǎng zài zhèlǐ. Wánquán méiyǒu. [in fact, I don’t want to be here at all.]”
Those were her last words to him. The next day, her grandmother sent her off to an all girl’s school, intended for teaching them manners and ethics. Those were the longest 4 years of her life. But, instead of returning to her home, where she dreaded that Kai might still be, she wandered off to find somewhere better to be.
Mei found herself investigating a tale she had heard about the unspoken ability of women, quite the odd whisper, but intriguing nonetheless. It was a small estate, in the middle of nowhere, but as she ventured further into the woods where it hid, she felt an odd sense of relief. Something told her, this is where she was meant to be.
When she walked in, the building smelt of incense and flowers, lightly decorated and holding a rather calm Feng shui. It immediately seemed to lift the years off of her shoulders, and she hoped it would become somewhere that she could be where her anger and past could not get to her.
“Channel your anger, use it to your abilities.” A man’s voice broke the silence, echoing softly through the halls of the dim studio. Mei turned and followed the calming sound, eventually turning a corner that met her with a man, standing above a group of women. Each of the girl’s sat with their legs crossed, eyes closed, and head tilted back. Mei sensed no anger, or grief, just serenity. The very sight of it made her heart yearn for that kind of inner peace.
“Hello.” The man greeted, his elderly voice shaky, yet strong, sweetly inviting her into the room. “Come, sit, my child.” Even as Mei was hesitant, she eventually found herself settling among the other women, crossing her legs and turning her eyes towards the elder.
“Wǒ gǎndào tòngkǔ. Sàng… [I sense pain. Mourning…]” He murmured, his dull green eyes drooped as the girl gazed needily up at him. “Háizi, nǐ bùyòng dānxīn. Wǒ néng bāng nǐ. [Don’t you worry, child. I can help you.]” he promised, giving her a sympathetic smile, before closing his eyes and returning to his class. Mei trusted the man, deciding to stay at the studio with the other women. She found that she was not the only girl who suffered from the things that haunted her.
In her time at the studio, Mei learned control. She learned that the past could not be changed, and that the future was a beautiful thing. She learned the art of healing with medicinal herbs, and acupuncture. The elder taught her self defense, in many different forms, which she learned quite quickly because of her previous training with [Y/N].
Yet, even the strongest of people cannot escape the unnerving death of a parent. There came times when Mei suffered from nightmares, and episodes where she could think of nothing but the sight of her mother’s blood pooling around her knees.
“Zǒu kāi! [go away!]” she’d scream to the sky, cursing the demons that plagued her mind. Her anger of the world seemed to grow as the nightmares continued, wondering why it was that everyone she ever loved had abandoned her. Even as Mei tried to focus her negative energy into something more productive, her training only seemed to enrich her anger. She started going out at nights, finding solace in the bottle, and others.
Night after night, her rage pent up in a spiritual bottle, leaving the girl more and more helpless to the psychological effects of quite literally running away from her problems… until she snapped.
“Tsk. Did her mother never teach her any manners?” Mei overheard from an older woman a few seats down the bar. Her darkened gaze was quickly snatched towards the raspy sound, nails on a chalkboard that disgraced the human race. “I see her every day, drunk off her ass. Doesn’t she know how that makes her look?” The chestnut gaze of Mei Zhen met the woman, who quickly shut her mouth… but it was too late. The slim girl had already stepped off her stool and approached the woman, her face red with anger and hardened with vengeance.
